Being an avid John Waters fan, I have to pay a respectful tribute to the one and only, late, great drag superstar, Divine, born on this day in 1945.
Divine's over-the-top, camp and dark humor along with his/her music and acting talent, has been etched in history as somewhat unique, to say the least. Famous for eating dog shit at the end of the 1972 cult film, Pink Flamingos, Divine was also well known for his/her music talents. Divine teamed up with legendary producer Bobby "O" Orlando and released club classics "Native Love" and "Shoot Your Shot." Having been popular in Europe, Divine also teamed up with the mighty production team of Stock, Aitken & Waterman (SAW) and put out another huge chart hit "You Think You're A Man."
His/her film career began in the underground scene, along with his neighbor from Baltimore, John Waters. Some of the earlier films included the aforementioned "Pink Flamingos", "Multiple Maniacs" and "Female Trouble." As John Waters and Divine became more popular, John's films started to get just a little more mainstream and then that's when he included Divine in movies like "Hairspray", which inspired the Broadway musical (which in turn inspired it to be turned back to a movie).
Just prior to his death, Divine/Glenn was going to have his first mainstream role as a male actor on the FOX TV series, Married With Children, in a recurring role. Divine, having been very overweight, suffered from various health issues and succumbed to sleep apnea (chronic violent snoring that can result in someone to stop breathing, stroke or heart failure) on March 7, 1988, at the very young age of 42.
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